SM Global Package: EXO PLANET #3 The EXO'rDIUM [dot] in Seoul

UPDATE:
[060120] SM Global Package: EXO PLANET #5 The EXplOration [dot] in Seoul
[261217] SM Global Package: EXO PLANET #4 The ElyXiOn in Seoul 

Warning: Lengthy post ahead

Just a little over 5 years ago I was supposed to see Super Junior perform in Sydney with EXO-M as their opening act but that concert ended up being cancelled... Since then no SM artists have scheduled concerts in Australia. As the EXO members will have to start enlisting soon I really wanted to see them perform so I made the trip to South Korea for EXO'rDIUM dot.

It's well known that EXO concert tickets get sold out quickly. I didn't want to deal with the struggle of buying and failing through Yes24 or paying more through resellers (and potentially getting scammed) so I decided to go with the Global Package offered by S.M.C&C because I think it's the most convenient and safest option. The Global Package went on sale early April before tickets went on sale on Yes24 (also before they announced that Lay wouldn't be attending T_T). I knew the Global Package also sells out pretty quickly so I was ready to buy it as soon as it was scheduled to go on sale but due to technical issues it ended up being sold an hour after the initial scheduled time.

Details about the Global Package

I had read that in previous Global Packages the Premium package was something that you had to apply for and it was allocated through a lottery system but this time you could actually select Premium 1 or Premium 2. The other grades were Deluxe 1, Deluxe 2, Superior and Economy. The better the grade, the better your hotels were and also effected which tickets you could draw. Premium packages also came with an EXO decorated hotel room (and you get to keep all the EXO related goods that are in your room). You have a choice of single or twin packages and because there were two concerts there was a choice of 3 courses; Course A (Saturday concert), Course B (Sunday concert) or Course C (Saturday and Sunday concerts).

Once you select which package grade you want, there was only one option which was for a seating ticket (the entire concert venue was seating - for other concerts which also have standing you'll be able to select if you want seating or standing). You click join now and it'll confirm which package you chose and ask for your details (which you can pre-fill in the "My Info" section). Then click through to pay and it'll take you to PayPal (you can reserve the booking for two hours without paying). Once you pay your reservation should be in the "My Page" section and under payment it should say completed. Took me less than 10 minutes and when I went back my course (Premium 2 Course C) was already sold out. Premium and Economy were the grades which sold out the fastest but you should keep checking the page over the next couple of hours in case people reserved the package but don't end up paying for it. S.M.C&C also opened up a second round of packages the next day.

The first communication I received from S.M.C&C was about 1.5 weeks before the concert which confirmed my Global Package and which hotel I'll be staying at. I also got an email to sign up for the free EXO Showtime City Tour (4 hour tour which covered Myeongdong, Namsam Tower and Hanok Village). A few days before the concert they updated the "Personal Notice" section on the SMTown Travel website which gave you your login details for the preorder merch website. I really wanted Suho or Lay's baseball jersey but it wasn't included as part of the goods you could preorder :( We also got another email with an updated detailed time schedule.

Day 1 - Friday

I reached Seoul on the Friday afternoon and immediately went to Grand Intercontinental Parnas to check in. When I went to my room I saw it wasn't decorated with EXO goods - it just looked like a normal hotel room... I had to go back to reception but the staff immediately apologised and called housekeeping to get my room decorated.

Bed in hotel room pre-decoration

Bed in hotel room post-decoration feat. pillow cover, shawl, felt bags, slipper, hand towel and rug (foot mat)

List of EXO goods in the hotel room (except for the key cover which was just a card holder for the hotel card key, the rest of the items are either shown in the photo above or the photo below)

Table in hotel room post decoration feat. mood light, black espresso cup, room tag (2 types) and coasters (2 types)

We had to draw our tickets and pick up souvenirs at the S.M.C&C tour desk which was was open between 7-10pm in the lobby that night. There was already a queue before 7pm and the line moved pretty slowly as there was only one staff member ticking your name off and doing the ticket draw. Another staff member was finding your name tag, another one giving you the souvenirs (poster, pouch which included messages from EXO and some stationery, water bottle, magnets, brooch, umbrella and handkerchief for Premium 2 - FYI bring along a bag so it's easier to carry the merch back to your hotel room) and another staff member finding your preorder merchandise receipt. Next to the desk, there's a board which has the seating chart, schedule, guide phone numbers etc. Definitely check that because there were some time changes in the schedule compared to the one we received earlier via email and you can also see exactly where you'll be seating for the concert.

Messages from EXO

I ended up drawing tickets in section C8 for Saturday and B5 for Sunday. C8 was ok but I was super happy with B5 since that was near the main stage.

Seating Chart feat. where I was seated for the concerts

After that I went to the SUM Store because I saw on Instagram that they'll be selling the baseball jersey and if you spend 20,000 won or more and show your concert ticket you can get a free EXO magnetic bookmark. They only had Kai and Chen jerseys left but I did find Suho's SPAO sweater so I bought that and got D.O's magnetic bookmark.

Day 2 - Saturday

I didn't have anything to do prior to the concert on Saturday as part of the Global Package schedule apart from preorder merchandise pick up between 2-3.30pm so I went shopping in Myeongdong.

There was another SUM store there located in Lotte Young Plaza so I went to look for the jersey again but they also only had Chen and Kai left. Ended up buying an EXO character Stardium sweater. I had already bought the black version in 2015 but this store had a white version. It was still being sold for full price and had Tao in it but I really like how the sweater has pockets so I bought it anyway and got 3 bookmarks (Sehun and 2 Baekhyun but I managed to swap Baekhyun for Suho with another Global Package participant :D).

My EXO sweaters :)

The bus to the concert venue left at 5pm but we had to meet at 4.45pm in the lobby. The stadium is 1 station away (Samseong to Sports Complex on Subway Line 2) but because it was 5pm on a Saturday night and so many other people were going to the stadium it took the bus nearly 1 hour to reach! I went straight inside the stadium and ended up having to queue for half an hour for the toilet... Security was so lax though - they didn't check any bags and food and drink were supposedly not allowed in the venue but I saw so many people walk in with drinks.

Outside the stadium

My view of the main stage on the first night

The concert started on time at 7pm and went for about 3 hours. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had previously mentioned on Instagram that it would get cold and we should bring a thick coat and dress warmly. Super sweet of them and so glad they did that because I didn't realise how cold it gets at night considering it's Summer. I had one of my EXO sweaters with me and also brought along the shawl that came with the package and I was still kinda cold. Words cannot describe how good the concert was though! It's such a different experience being part of fan chants and contributing to the pretty lights with your lightstick rather than watching it on DVD or seeing fancams on YouTube (which is all I was ever able to do the past 5 years). Also seeing the members up close!!! And Suho spoke in English for part of one of the ments because he knew there were a lot of international fans attending :) After the concert, we were given a water bottle and some cookies on the bus.

Day 3 - Sunday

Only got about 3 hours sleep because I needed to be in the lobby by 6.15am as part of the Global Package schedule (super early T_T). We had tickets to see the surround viewing of EXO'rDIUM at 7am. SMTOWN@coexartium only opens at 11am to the public but at 6.30am there were already people lining up outside (pretty sure they were EXO-Ls wanting to buy merchandise).

As part of the package we're allowed to write letters to the members so I dropped off my letter for Suho (which I had written the night before right after the concert hence the 3 hours sleep) in a box outside the theatre. The surround viewing went for about 2 hours and then I only really had half an hour to look around SUM Store and SUM Cafe before we were scheduled to meet downstairs for lunch (which was really brunch because it was 10am...). On the bus we were given a magnetic bookmark and this time I got Xiumin (which I managed to swap for Lay with another Global Package participant :D).

D.O, Sehun, Baekhyun, Lay and Suho magnetic bookmarks :)

I saw that some people had lunch at SMT Seoul while others had it at SUM Cafe in S.M. Communication Centre. I think all Premium went to SUM Cafe because we had a second event in the same building where we got to take a photo in the training room after we had our lunch. We also got to look around SUM Market. After that there was nothing left in our schedule apart from the concert at night so we ended up back at the hotel at 12pm and were due to meet back at 3.45pm to go to Jamsil.

Lunch

Dessert

A lot of people chose to go to the venue themselves and I will definitely do that if I ever do Global Package again so there's time to line up for free fanmade merch at the venue. The bus didn't take as long on the second day - it took a different route and went through a VIP entrance so it ended up taking about 15 minutes. Tried looking for the food truck that EXO Global organised but it was already gone. I did manage to get a Suho banner outside the venue though.

Right before the concert started there was a lot of screaming from the back of the stadium and I found out after the concert it was because 4 of the NCT Dream members showed up. SMRookies Kun and Jungwoo, Red Velvet's Wendy and Joy, Kangta and Lee Soo Man were also at the concert.

My view of the main stage on the second night

My seat for the second concert was AMAZING!! So close to the main stage (so you get a very good view of the first few performances apart from a cameraman blocking part of the stage - you can see him the photo above) and it was also right in front of Suho for Playboy and Artificial Love. The only thing that sucked was security were really tight about taking photos/videos on the second night so every 30 seconds I could hear them telling people to stop taking photos and they were ruining the songs and blocking my view while doing that! They still didn't check bags before the concert though - they should really get their priorities straight. Was super glad Suho mentioned Lay in one of the ending ments and the crowd started chanting Zhang Yixing T_T. Again we got cookies and a bottle of water after the concert and we were also given the photos we had taken earlier in the training room.

Day 4 - Monday

Nothing really happened on Monday because I had to check out and go straight to Gimpo to catch my flight. After check-in there was another SUM store but it's super tiny compared to the others.

2 Weeks Later

For a past package I remember seeing a video of the EXO members holding a few of the letters written by Global Package participants. This time photos of the members holding up 3-4 letters each were uploaded in the "Personal Notice" section on the SMTown Travel website.

Here's Suho not holding my letter :( I didn't really decorate my letter though because I was too tired after the concert so not surprised lol

Overall it was such an incredible experience. I'll definitely recommend Global Package and hopefully have the chance to do it again.

If you have any questions about the Global Package, please leave a comment below :)

xiaomewpie xx